The COVID-19 pandemic has different companies taking various approaches to adapt to the climate of social distancing. As the virus spreads through close contact, social distancing is encouraged to flatten the curve and many companies are asking its employees to work from home, whereas some countries have gone into total lockdown.
However, there are other issues, like misinformation which can have dire consequences. Social media platforms are awash with fake news and Snapchat is doing its part to combat the spread of misinformation by working with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Through this collaboration, Snapchat wants to ensure that its users have the latest information from the organisation themselves. Users are also encouraged to follow WHO’s official account on Snapchat to receive timely updates as they publish content regularly. In fact, Snapchat is working with them to come up with custom content to answer questions from the Snapchat community.
With around 210 million active users per day as of 2019, this is the responsible thing to do as many people inadvertently use the platform to receive information, especially through the company’s curated Discover platform.
They are also working with broadcasting partners such as NBC’s Stay Tuned, Sky News, the Telegraph, the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and CNN. Other than that Snapchat has included a WHO filter that educates its users on the practices of good hygiene.
They have also included a bunch of Bitmoji stickers that appear on the Bitmoji keyboard and include phrases like “Wash your hands,” “Stay home if you’re feeling sick” and “Don’t touch your face.”
Snapchat’s guidelines are strict and prohibit its users and partners from sharing misleading information. Their team is also working proactively producing news and providing coverage of recent events and coming up with tips about COVID-19.
